Detachable tag



Dec. 29, 1936. E. WILLIAMS DETACHABLE TAG Original Filed Aug. 20, 1934 lATTORNEYS Patented Dec. 29, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Originalapplication August 20, 1934, Serial No. 740,612. Divided and thisapplication June 1,

1936, Serial No. 82,753

6 Claims.

This invention relates to tags or tickets for attachment to fabrics,particularly tags for use on garments, cloth and the like, to showprice, size, the grade of material, or any other desired information.

A broad object of the invention is to provide a tag that can be quicklyattached or removed while at the same time resisting accidental removal.

Another object is to provide a detachable tag having pointed metalfastening elements so arranged that it is difiicult, if not impossible,for an operator to prick himself while attaching or removing a tag orwhile handling a garment to which the tag is secured.

To the best of my knowledge,'it has been the practice heretofore tosecure tags to clothing either by sewing the corners of the tag to thefabric with thread and needle or by using a U-shaped wire clip which isattached to the tag during manufacture, the points of the clip beingforced through the fabric to which the tag is to be attached and bentback on the other side of the fabric. Sewing is objectionable because itis slow and expensive and also because the thread often breaks, or theend pulls out, thereby permitting the tag to become detached. The tagshaving wire clips thereon that have been employed heretofore are subjectto the criticism that the sharp points are not protected and operatorsfrequently prick their lingers in attaching or removing the tags or inhandling the garments to which the tag is to be attached.

In accordance with the present invention, I avoid the foregoingdifficulties of the tags heretofore used by imbedding a spring wire inthe tag (preferably by forming the tag from two layers of paper orcardboard glued together with the wire positioned between the twolayers) and extending one or both ends of the wire out of the tag andpointing the ends of the wire and so curving them that they are directedtoward one face of the tag, whereby they are adapted to grip or clamp afabric against the tag. With this arrangement the point or points of thewire are protected and at the same time a means for securely locking thetag to the fabric is provided.

This application is a division of my application Serial No. 740,612,filed August 20, 1934.

In the drawing:

Fig. l is a sectional view through one type of tag in accordance withthe invention;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the wire element employed in the tagshown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view through a portion of (Cl. 40-25) the tag ofthe general type shown in Fig. l but differing therefrom in detail;

Fig. i is a perspective view of the wire element employed in the tagshown in Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a sectional view showing still another modification of thegeneral type of tag illustrated in Fig. 1; and

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the wire element of the tag shown inFig. 5. g

Referring first to Figs. 1 and 2, there is shown a tag 8, which islikewise formed of two layers of pasteboard 9 and lil, respectively,glued together with a portion of a wire element H imbedded therebetween.As clearly shown in Fig. 2, the wire element H is of irregular outline,comprising straight portions l2, l3, l4, l5, l6 and I1, all of which liein a common plane and are contained between the two cardboard elements 9and [0.

Beyond the Section I! there is a straight section I8 extending throughthe cardboard layer In, this portion l8 extending at right anglesto theplane containing the previously recited sections, and merging into astraight section 18 extending upwardly parallel to the face of the tagbut spaced therefrom. This section 19 in turn merges into a straightsection 20 whichex tends through an aperture 2| provided therefor in thetag to the opposite side of the tag, where it merges into anotherstraight section 22, which in turn merges into a straight section 23extending back through a second aperture 24 in the tag. The section 24merges into a straight section l9 and merges into a terminal section 26which is pointed and. is juxtaposed to the face of the tag substantiallyat the intersection of the sections 14 and I5 of the wire. This tag isattached to a fabric by pressing on the exposed section 22 of the wire,thereby moving the point of the wire clear of the tag to permitinsertion of the edge of a fabric between the point and the tag.Thereupon, release of the pressure on the section 22 permits the point26 to be moved toward the tag, thereby gripping the fabric. Obviouslythe tag may be readily removed by merely repeating the operationdescribed for shifting the point of the wire away from the tag, andwithdrawing the fabric.

A simplified form of the tag just described is illustrated in Figs. 3and 4. In this instance it will be observed that the wire elementcomprises straight sections 21, 28, 29 and 30, positioned in a commonplane and adapted to be imbedded between the two layers of the tag. Thewire beyond the straight section 30 is extag and passing through a hole35 provided therefor in the tag. The straight section 34 merges into a"straight section 36 substantially parallel to the tag, which mergesinto the tip 31, which is pointed and normally held against the tag bythe inherent resilience of the wire.

It will be observed that the tip 3! constitutes a clip which may beopened for the insertion'of the edge of a fabric to whichithe tageistoto attached by pressing the curved portion 373 of the wire toward thetag.

In Figs. 5 and 6, thereis showna modifica-' tion of the constructiondescribed in connection with Figs. 1, 2, 3 and 4 in which the-wire, 7instead of being extended through a hole in the "tag, is brought backlover the top of the, tag. Thus the wire comprises straight sectionsifll,4|, 42, 43, 44 and 45, all lying in the plane of the tag and imbeddedbetween thetwo layers of thetag. The end of the section 45 projectsthrough the edge of the tag, beyond which point the wire isicoiled, asshown at 46,'curved down overone side of the tag to constitute a handleportion 41, then doubled back on itself and extended over the top of thetag as a curved portion 48, which merges into a straight portion49,whioh'terminates in the tip' portion 50'. 'This modificationis actuatedto displace the point 50 from the tag by depressing the handle portion47 toward the tag. When pressure on the bandle 41 is released, theresilience of the wire engages the pointed end 50 of the'wire firmly in"a fabric "positioned thereunder against the t c It will be observedthat'in all of the modifications of the invention described the pointed tipsof thewires are directed toward a face of the tag so that the fabric isclamped firmly between the tip and the tag. Furthermore/this.const'ructio'n makes it almost impossible for an' operator to contactthe sharp tipsfof 'the' wires .with his fingers either "while attachingor removing the tags 'or while handling garments to which the tags arsecured. I

Furthermore, in each type of tag described, it will be observedthatcthat portion. of the wire which isimbeddedbetween the two layers ofthe tagextends over a relatively large area within the tag and furnishesa very desirable reinforcement for stiffening the tag; 3

Although numerous embodiments of the inven tion have been described, itwill be apparent to those skilled in the art that various other changesmay be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. Thelatter is therefore to be limitedonly as set forth in the appendedclaims.

I claim:

1. A clothing ticket comprising a tag of sheet material and a springwire element, one end of which is anchored in. said tag and the tip ofthe other end of which is directed'toward afsurface of said tag, theintermediateportion of the wire between the anchored end and the tipbeing normally under tension to yieldably hold said tip against saidsurface in which a part at least of said intermediate portion of saidwire is positioned in spaced relation from the face of said tag oppositethe face against which said tip bears, whereby said tip can be deflectedaway from said tag by forcing said mentioned part of said wire towardsaid tag.

2. A clothing ticket as described in claim 1 in which said wire iscoiled adjacent its point of emergence from said tag to increase itsresilience at that point.

3. A clothing ticket comprising a tag of sheet material having a springwire element a portion of which is imbedded therein, at least one end ofsaid wire extending exterior of said tag through one edge of said tagand being bent back over one-surface of said tag, the tip of said wirebeing directed toward said surface of said tag andtensioned to normallybear against said tag, whereby it, will grip a fabric positionedthereunder, and a portion of said wire between the tip thereof and thepoint of emergence from said tag, being extended away from the tag asufiicient distance to be freely movable with respect to the tag and soconfigured that deflection of that portion raises the tip away from thesurface of the tag.

4. A tag of sheet material in combination with means for attaching thetag to a fabric surface comprising a length of spring wire a portion ofwhich is imbedded in the tag and curvedto enclose a substantial areatherewithin, one end of said wire extending beyond said tag through oneedge thereof, thence back over one face of said tag and then beingdoubled back on itself and extending across the end of the tag to apoint spaced substantially from the plane of the tag, and thence curvedto bring the tip of the wire in contact with said other face of the tag,whereby movement of said doubled-back portion of the wire toward saidtag displaces the tip away from said other face of said tag.

5. A tag of sheet material in combination with means for attaching thetag to a fabric surface, comprising a length of spring wire a portion ofwhich is imbedded in said tag, said wire extending exterior of said tagthrough one edge thereof, thence back along one face of said tag, thencethrough a hole in said tag provided therefor, said wire being given areturn bend on the opposite side of said tag to bring said tip againstsaid other face of said tag.

6. A tag of sheet material in combination with means for attaching thetag to a fabric surface, comprising a length of spring wire a portion ofwhich is imbedded in the tag and bent to define substantially a closedfigure therewithin, one end of said wire being projected through oneface of said tag to a point spaced therefrom, thence in a straight lineparallel to the plane of said tag, thence perpendicular to and extendingthrough said tag, thence again in a direction parallel to said tag andsubstantially parallel to said first parallel portion, thence to andthrough said tag to a point spaced from the planeo'fthe'tag on theopposite side thereof, the tip of said wire being curved back 3,

toward and contacting with said other face of said tag, said tag beingprovided with apertures for freely receiving said wire at the pointswhere it passes therethrough, whereby pressure on said second parallelportion 'of said wire displaces said tip from the face of said tag.

LEWIS E. WILLIAMS.

